Justice at Work: Towards an Adaptive Workplace

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dc.contributorAslam, Ali
dc.contributorRunell Hall, Marcella
dc.contributor.advisorMarkovits, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.authorBenowitz, Lillie
dc.date.accessioned2017-05-30T12:59:17Z
dc.date.available2017-05-30T12:59:17Z
dc.date.gradyear2017en_US
dc.date.issued2017-05-30
dc.description.abstractWhy is it that some bodies, but not others, are able to comfortably navigate the workplace? What would it mean to imagine a workplace that allowed all bodies to exist and succeed in it fully? In this thesis, I explore how workplace norms are constructed, what politics and feminist justice theory has to say about it, and why certain performances and not others are accepted in the public sector workplace. Workplaces privilege “professionalism” scripts based on white, male performance and see white, male bodies as the somatic norm of public sector, salary work. These rigid behavior and bodily expectations construct an uneven playing field for success at work based on embodiment and performance. The Urban Scholars Program challenges how workplaces currently function by creating pathways for students of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to enter the public sector in the Twin Cities. I analyze the successes and opportunities for improvement of this program in order to discern what lessons can apply to creating a just workplace. I pose that while programs like Urban Scholars are important to increase diversity in the public sector, they train people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to enter the workplace as is. This approach overlooks the unique gendered and racialized embodiments of Scholars. In order to create a truly inclusive and just workplace, the workplace itself must change based on the bodies that compose it. It must become an adaptive workplace, meaning that workplace norms and behavior expectations become more fluid and constantly reform themselves. From this investigation, I hope a more inclusive and equitable workplace can emerge.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipPoliticsen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10166/4035
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.rights.restrictedpublicen_US
dc.subjectdiversityen_US
dc.subjectequityen_US
dc.subjectinclusionen_US
dc.subjectjusticeen_US
dc.subjectembodimenten_US
dc.subjectperformanceen_US
dc.subjectraceen_US
dc.subjectgenderen_US
dc.subjectworkplaceen_US
dc.subjectorganizational cultureen_US
dc.subjectUrban Scholars Programen_US
dc.titleJustice at Work: Towards an Adaptive Workplaceen_US
dc.typeThesis
mhc.degreeUndergraduateen_US
mhc.institutionMount Holyoke College

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